The Mortality of Design as a concept was born out of our experience participating in Design Week for the first time last year. In 2013 two of our Designers and one of our Developers took it upon themselves to create honest and unique events that shared what Design meant to them and our world.

The response to our experiment was overwhelming.
Newlywebs sold out. Clouds, Code & Crying Squirrels packed our offices to their absolute limit. And the keg we ordered was gone after the first event.

Internally, eROI was shifting as well. We have grown from thirteen people in 2013 to over thirty in less than a year, we redesigned our offices, and have redirected our focus as an agency (see the recent update of our 2020 Painted Picture Presentation). It hasn’t come without a lot of work, but it is starting to pay off.

Now, in 2014, the Mortality of Design examines the trends, practices, traditions, and innovations that are all a part of this shifting, changing landscape we operate in as designers.
Across the agency, we’ve created a branded experience and campaign for six events spanning the spectrum of design. Our events will be widely varied from a historical tour of Old Town/China Town to an open house turned exhibit benefiting p:ear, a panel exploring collaboration to an event dedicated to the death of the design comp, and the evolution of email to an interactive event focused on bridging sales and art.
And we, of course, are ordering more than one keg this year.

Design Week Portland is over for the year. Please view our wrap up post to catch all the action.